Generally Impressed With Riffs
[Cover artwork by Luca “Zeero” Zironi] There was always something uniquely charming about Konquest’s brand of traditional heavy metal—an almost whimsical breeziness that still felt like a near perfect balance of playful and substantive. A long-lost Italian cousin to Sweden’s …
[Cover art by Beyond Art] There are bad musical moods, and then there’s Mylingar. Over the course of the last decade this group of anonymous Swedes has concocted the type of ill-meaning black/death that makes Diocletian seem like a Care …
[Cover artwork by Subhuman at Desert Dungeon] Let’s talk about our love for quirky metal. Okay, sure, any definable level of ‘quirk’ is obviously subjective, but I’m guessing you know we’re not talking about the guy who loves The Black …
[Cover art by Mister Curse] Stack Overflow In Corpse Pile Interface. Stack Overflow in…Corpse Pile Interface? “What’s in a name? That which we call a corpse pile, by any other word would smell as putrid” – billy shakes Forgive my …
Indulge me, if you would, a bit of anecdote to set the stage for my review of a record that represents everything I hate about what passes for competent heavy music in the realm of …
originally written by Chris McDonald Is it possible these days for a band to proudly display their multitude of influences and still come out with a final product that actually feels original? Some may argue …
My personal opinion of Xasthur is essentially the same as that which Chris McDonald stated in his review of A Gate Through Bloodstained Mirrors. It is almost a kind of enjoyable apathy. Malefic can no doubt create a …
Hellish Crossfire made one hell of a first impression on me. When going through my usual album-to-review selecting process, a quick trip to a band’s Myspace page is always essential. Have to sample the goods. …
Kill the Sun is a re-release of Xandria’s debut LP, introduced originally in 2003, and is just one of three (from among four) of their long players reissued for North America by Artoffact Records in …
Originally written by Jordan Campbell After releasing four albums under the Blaze moniker, Blaze Bayley formed a new band and rebranded himself with 2008’s The Man Who Would Not Die. Though it slipped through the cracks here at MR HQ, …
Three years after the release of their debut and just nine months following its reissue from new label, Metal Blade, Valkyrja lay upon us ten new tracks of infective Swedish black metal in Contamination. Whereas …
originally written by Jim Brandon Shining is never an easy band to sit through, which I imagine is entirely the point most of the time. Besides select moments of IV: The Eerie Cold, I can’t …
